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T - rex
Aside from being one of the largest of the known carnivorous dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex — T. rex, for short — is the dinosaur that has arguably received the most media exposure. It had a starring role in the "Jurassic Park" movies and has a renowned exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The name Tyrannosaurus rex means "king of the tyrant lizards": "tyranno" means tyrant in Greek; "saurus" means lizard in Greek, and "rex" means "king" in Latin. In 1905, Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of the American Museum of Natural History at the time, named Tyrannosaurus rex. T. rex was a member of the Tyrannosauroidea family of huge predatory dinosaurs with small arms and two-fingered hands. Aside from Tyrannosaurs, other Tyrannosaurid genera include Albertosaurus, Alectrosaurus, Alioramus, Chingkankousaurus, Daspletosaurus, Eotyrannus, Gorgosaurus, Nanotyrannus (a controversial genus that might, in fact, be an adolescent T. rex), Prodeinodon, Tarbosaurus and Zhuchengtyrannus. T. rex fossils are found in western North America, from Alberta to Texas. But it's possible that T. rex was an invasive species from Asia, according to a 2016 study published in Scientific Reports. An analysis of T. rex's skeletal features showed that the dinosaur king was more similar to two Tyrannosaurs in Asia, Tarbosaurus and Zhuchengtyrannus, than it was to North American Tyrannosaurs, the researchers told Live Science. Perhaps the paleo beast crossed over about 67 million years ago when the seaway between Asia and North America receded, the researchers said. However, the finding is still preliminary, and other experts maintain that T. rex evolved in North America, they said. An imposing figure The largest and most complete T. rex skeleton ever found was nicknamed Sue, after its discoverer, paleontologist Sue Hendrickson. Measurements of Sue suggest T. rex was one of the largest carnivorous dinosaurs to ever live, coming in at up to 13 feet (4 meters) tall at the hips (the beast's highest point since it did not stand erect) and 40 feet (12.3 m) long. A recent analysis of Sue, published in 2011 in the journal PLOS ONE, shows T. rex weighed as much as 9 tons (about 8,160 kilograms). T. rex had strong thighs and a powerful tail, which counterbalanced its large head (Sue's skull is 5 feet, or 1.5 m, long) and allowed it to move quickly. The 2011 study, which also modeled T. rex's muscle distribution and center of mass, suggests the giant could run 10 to 25 mph (17 to 40 km/h), as previous studies had estimated. Its two-fingered forearms were puny, making it unlikely that T. rex could use them to kill or even get a meal to its mouth. "We don't know what the tiny arms were used for," said University of Kansas paleontologist David Burnham. What T rex's eat T. rex was a huge carnivore and primarily ate herbivorous dinosaurs, including Edmontosaurus and Triceratops. The predator acquired its food through scavenging and hunting, grew incredibly fast and ate hundreds of pounds at a time, Burnham said. For many years, the evidence that T. rex actually hunted for its meals was circumstantial and included such things as bones with bite marks, teeth near carcasses and foot tracks suggesting pursuits, Burnham said. But in a 2013 study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Burnham and his colleagues unveiled direct evidence of T. rex's predatory nature: a T. rex tooth embedded in a duckbill dinosaur's tailbone, which healed over the tooth (meaning the duckbill got away). It is also possible that a T - rex is a scavenger. Scientists are unsure whether T. rex hunted alone or in packs. In 2014, researchers found dinosaur track marks in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia — out of the seven tracks, three belonged to Tyrannosaurids, most likely Albertosaurus, Gorgosaurus or Daspletosaurus. The study, published in PLOS ONE, suggests that T. rex's relatives, at least, hunted in packs. T rex fossils T. rex fossils are found in a variety of rock formations dating to the Maastrichtian age of the upper Cretaceous period, which lasted from 67 million to 65 million years ago, toward the end of the Mesozoic Era. It was among the last of the non-avian dinosaurs to exist prior to the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, which wiped out the dinosaurs. T - rexs lived mainly in North America but similar creatures like Tarbosaurus have been found all around the world. n 2007, scientists unearthed what may be a T. rex footprint in Hell Creek, and described their discovery in the journal Palaios. If the track did indeed belong to T. rex, it would be only the second confirmed T. rex footprint ever discovered, the first being a footprint discovered in New Mexico in 1993. Appearance Tyrannosaurus rex was one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs that ever lived. Everything about this ferocious predator, from its thick, heavy skull to its 4-foot-long (1.2-meter-long) jaw, was designed for maximum bone-crushing action. A T - rex can completely crush a bone with on bite. Fossil evidence shows that Tyrannosaurus was about 40 feet (12 meters) long and about 15 to 20 feet (4.6 to 6 meters) tall. Its strong thighs and long, powerful tail helped it move quickly, and its massive 5-foot-long (1.5-meter-long) skull with 54 sharp serrated teeth could easily bore into prey. T. rex's serrated, conical teeth were most likely used to pierce and grip flesh, which it then ripped away with its brawny neck muscles. Its two-fingered forearms could probably seize prey, but they were too short to reach its mouth. Category:T Rex Category:Dinosaur Category:Predator Category:Carnivore Category:Sebastienxu467